Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: Cozmic One Enjoying The Spotlight In Training For Jumping Career
Cozmic One in the show ring. Shawn McMillan Photo
As the first foal of Hall of Famer Zenyatta, who became a megastar for her charisma and near perfect record, Cozmic One made headlines even before he was born.
Years later, the son of Bernardini still gains plenty of attention but not for his racetrack or stallion success. Better known these days as "Coz," he is a versatile show horse with a steady stream of admirers and social media followers via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Now eight years old, he has appeared in several venues to promote the amazing abilities of off-track Thoroughbreds. A participant in the 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover event, he recently returned to action after an extended vacation.
“He had a strained muscle in his glute so we gave him the year to heal and just relax and I think that did wonders for him,” said Isabela de Sousa who shares riding with her father Sergio de Sousa, managing partner of Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, Kentucky. “It allowed his mind and body to mature.”
Isabela said Cozmic One is polishing his natural jumping skills that are suited for a variety of specialized competitions.
“We are really taking our time with building the right muscles and putting proper flat work on him so that he can use himself to his very best ability,” she said. “When we jump at home, we work on his form and his rideability. The jumping part comes easy for him, but it is important that we work on putting all the pieces together before we move him up.”
Tentative plans call for Cozmic One to participate next year in shows limited to Thoroughbreds if he continues his enthusiasm.
“Our goals are for him to enjoy what he does.” Isabela said. “He is in ‘retirement’ so this should be fun for him. We never want to take away his joy from his new career. I will be a freshman at Florida Atlantic University in the fall, so my dad will be taking the reins back over and hopefully next year they will be doing some Take 2 Thoroughbred League Classes.”
Cozmic One’s athletic ability was repurposed soon after it became clear that he would not be following in his family’s illustrious hoof steps. A homebred for Jerry and Ann Moss, who also campaigned Zenyatta, Cozmic One was winless in five starts at ages three and five. The closest he came to victory was a fourth-place effort when he was beaten three quarters of a length at Del MarJuly 23, 2017. Like Zenyatta, Cozmic One was trained by John Shirreffs, whose wife Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs is the Mosses’ longtime racing and bloodstock adviser.
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Shawn McMillan Photo
Sergio de Sousa knows Ignordo-Shirreffs’ son David Ingordo, who purchased Zenyatta for $60,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. De Sousa expressed his interest in Cozmic One as a prospect for the Thoroughbred Makeover while he was still testing his racing skills. About a year later, the idea became a reality. Not only did Cozmic One find his best stride in jumping, he served as an ambassador of his breed by flaunting his endearing personality at the Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.
“Coz still has a huge fan base,” Isabela said. “It’s super fun to take them through his journey from racehorse to show horse. He still gets lots of attention and fan mail. We didn’t have any pressure to keep the fans posted about him, but it’s something we wanted to do. He still gets visitors and lots of treats. People who know him at shows will get their photos taken with him. We let little kids sit on him. He truly loves the spotlight.”
That love of the spotlight is inherited from Zenyatta, who galloped and pranced her way to celebrity status as her undefeated winning streak grew. She charmed pre-race onlookers with her “dance” of strutting her front legs. After capturing her first two starts late in her 3-year-old season at Hollywood Park in 2007, the daughter of Street Cry (IRE) went on to win 17 graded stakes including the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade 1) and 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1) at Santa Anita. Her sensational streak ended in her final start when she was edged by Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. A month later she left her Southern California barn for her new life at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Ky.
Her broodmare status is well chronicled at www.zenyatta.com, where archived blog posts detail her 2011 initial breeding and 60-day pregnancy confirmation from a subsequent mating that resulted in Cozmic One. The blog has inspired Thoroughbred industry and mainstream media to report on Zenyatta and her foals.
Cozmic one with de Sousa Shawn McMillan Photo
Her second offspring is a 2013 Tapit colt named Ziconic, who followed Cozmic One in being a non-winner on track but a talent in the show ring and a social media darling. Her 2014 War Front filly died as a weanling after suffering a pasture accident. Zenyatta was not bred for the 2015 foaling season and her 2016 War Front colt died a few days after birth from a lung condition. Her 3-year-old daughter Zellda, by Medaglia d’Oro, is training steadily in Southern California for her career debut. Zenyatta has no progeny from 2018 and 2019 so the youngest member of the clan is a Candy Ride (ARG) filly born May 17.
As the eldest, Cozmic One received massive attention that carries through his second career as a shining example on an off-track Thoroughbred. Isabela said patience is key to refashioning racehorses.
“Not everything is going to happen in the first weeks, months, or maybe even years,” she said. “Two years later, Cozmic One is mentally and physically where we want him to be. You have to be able to recognize they have potential and help them mold into the horse you know they can be. Enjoy them and don’t rush them.”
